Amazon’s QR-like ‘SmileCodes’ are the key to discounts and Lockers

Amazon will start rolling out its own version of QR codes, TechCrunch reports. Called SmileCodes, they function just like a typical QR code — scan it with your phone and see where it leads — but they’ll only be scannable through the Amazon app and, naturally, they feature the very recognizable Amazon smile right in the center. According to TechCrunch, Amazon has been piloting them for the past few weeks in pop-up shops and Amazon Lockers in Europe and next month, SmileCodes will hit the US. They’ll debut in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.

A number of companies have continued to utilize traditional QR codes or their own take on them. Spotify began offering its own codes last year as a way for users to share music with others while Pinterest’s Pincodes allow brands to link users to more information and content. Similarly, Snapchat offers Snapcodes that let users share their profile as well as website links. Meanwhile, others, like Microsoft and Venmo, have stuck with more traditional QR codes to assist their customers in a variety of ways.

Amazon says SmileCodes will be used for things like getting a discount in Amazon Restaurant or retrieving your Amazon Locker code. To scan a code, tap the camera icon next to the search bar in the Amazon app. Then tap “see more” and the SmileCode scanner.

Via: TheVerge

Red Hat buys the creator of a Chrome-based OS for servers

The underpinnings of Chrome OS have found their way into the server room in a very roundabout way. Red Hat has acquired CoreOS, the creators of an operating system for containerized apps (Container Linux) that shares roots with both Google’s Chromium OS project and Gentoo Linux. The $250 million deal promises to help Red Hat fulfill its dreams of helping people use open code to deploy apps in any environment they like, whether it’s on a local network or multiple cloud services.

CoreOS has played a particularly major role in Kubernetes, the Google-built open platform for deploying those containerized apps. It’s the second-largest contributor to the project beyond Google itself, Red Hat said. Additional tools like Tectonic and Quay have made it easier for big businesses to move and track apps.

You probably won’t notice any of the Chrome OS influence at Red Hat. However, this shows just how far Google’s web-centric platform has spread. Elements of an OS originally designed for frugal PCs will soon find their way into products from the open source world’s biggest business provider — Google definitely didn’t anticipate that.

Source: Red Hat, CoreOS

Pre-orders for Jaguar’s all-electric SUV start March 1st

You’ll be able to see Jaguar’s answer to the Tesla Model X March 1st. What’s more, when the production model debuts next month, the British luxury automaker’s I-Pace electric crossover SUV will be able to hit an 80 percent charge in 45 minutes thanks to an available 100-kW DC fast charger, Autoblog writes. That’s up from a 80 percent charge in two hours when the I-Pace was still just a concept at the LA Auto Show in 2016, using a 50-kW fast charger. There’s also a connected app that enables you to, essentially, warm the car up while it’s plugged in. Autoblog also reports that pre-orders go live during the reveal next month, as well.

Jaguar hasn’t said how much this will cost just yet, however. In lieu of that, you’ll be able to tune into the global debut livestream March 1st at 1PM Eastern and hope for a sticker price along with the rest of us. And for an idea of how the EV handles in inclement conditions, check out the video below.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Jaguar

Former Apple Executives Launch New Social Gaming Broadcast Service ‘Caffeine’

Two former Apple executives have today launched a new game broadcasting service called Caffeine, which allows users to watch and broadcast games and other entertainment on Mac, PC, and iPhone. In a press release, the company likened Caffeine to Amazon’s Twitch platform, “only easier, safer, and more social.”

Caffeine was founded by Ben Keighran and Sam Roberts, a former product design lead for Apple TV and lead user experience designer for Apple, respectively. Other than games, Caffeine will be a “social broadcasting platform” with tools for entertainment as well as other artistic content, and is backed by $46 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners

“We’re incredibly excited to be sharing more details on the pre-release version of Caffeine,” said Ben Keighran, CEO of Caffeine. “I left Apple to create a company that would fundamentally change the way we create, consume, share, and monetize live content. Our goal was to re-imagine every aspect of live broadcasting — ignoring the good things we could do and focusing on the really great things instead.

We are committed to building the best experience for creators, giving them everything they need, from the broadcasting software all the way through to how the audience discovers and enjoys their content. We have put together a world-class engineering and content team that will transform the way the world thinks about live broadcasting.”

The company described Caffeine’s interface as simple and straightforward to use, with “1-click easy” controls and no additional software required to stream content. Users can broadcast games in three ways: using PC game broadcast software, a webcam from a Mac or PC, and through the iOS application.

Once you start using Caffeine, the app will showcase content and broadcasts from the people you follow in a “social circle,” and you can join and watch content with them together. “There are no endless feeds of meaningless comments,” the company said, because the app highlights personal conversations between friends and creators, helping to dispel toxicity in a real-time chat environment.

On the creator side of things, Caffeine is also touted as a way to “build more personal, meaningful relationships” with viewers, leading to more opportunities to monetize content as well. The company said that a monetization system that backs Caffeine’s “easy to use” mantra will be coming in early 2018.

Right now, all versions of the service are technically in a pre-release build. If you’re interested you can find the desktop site at caffeine.tv and the iPhone app on the iOS App Store [Direct Link]. As a few readers have pointed out, Caffeine does not currently support Safari on Mac, but instead encourages users to try Firefox or Chrome.

Tag: Caffeine
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Apple Begins Shipping 18-Core iMac Pro to Customers

Apple today began shipping the 18-core iMac Pro to customers in the United States, just over six weeks after it began accepting orders. The first orders are estimated for delivery starting Tuesday, February 6.

MacRumors readers Anthony Berenato and Steve McKinnon both alerted us of the shipped status of their orders, while a few other Apple customers have echoed the same in the iMac Pro order topic in our discussion forums.

18-core iMac Pro configurations start at $7,399 in the United States, and with fully maxed out tech specs, the powerful workstation costs up to $13,199.

Apple quoted a shipping estimate of 6-8 weeks for the 18-core iMac Pro, pushing most deliveries into early February, so it is ever so slightly ahead of its schedule. We haven’t confirmed if 14-core models have shipped yet.

iMac Pro is also available in 8-core and 10-core configurations, priced from $4,999, and those models began shipping in late December. Micro Center is offering an impressive $1,000 off the base model while supplies last.

Last month, some customers were quoted an updated delivery timeframe of early January for 18-core iMac Pro orders, but in a follow-up email, Apple said this was an error. This time, the first orders have actually shipped out.

iMac Pro is a powerful, top-of-the-line workstation designed for professional users with demanding workflows, such as advanced video and graphics editing, virtual reality content creation, and real-time 3D rendering.

The machine can be configured with up to an 18-core Intel Xeon processor, up to 4TB of SSD storage, up to 128GB of ECC RAM, and an AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics processor with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

Related Roundup: iMac ProBuyer’s Guide: iMac Pro (Buy Now)
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iPhone and Apple TV Game ‘Sky’ Will Feature ‘Innovative’ Payment Model

In a new episode of IGN’s “Unfiltered” interview series, thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen discussed a variety of topics, including the developer’s upcoming iOS- and tvOS-only game “Sky,” the “malicious” intent of some mobile games, and how Sky’s payment model is its “biggest innovation.”

Specifically, Chen talked about how the iOS App Store and other mobile gaming platforms have affected the gaming industry as a whole, and his hopes that Sky can potentially become counter programming to those titles. Instead of using a payment model that is “downright malicious,” Chen teased that Sky’s structure will include a method where players “pay money for other people” and not for themselves.

Since we still have a few weeks to go before the game’s March release date, Chen didn’t divulge any more details.

“I think many people will be surprised by how this game makes money. I think my biggest breakthrough or innovation on this game is about how it actually charges people… this is something you probably have never seen before, once you play the game you will be interested. It’s a game where you pay money for other people and not yourself.”

Chen called this app payment structure his “biggest breakthrough” in the development of Sky’s iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV apps. He also reiterated on topics previously known about the game, like how it will be “ongoing” and constantly evolving, and include a multiplayer aspect that makes it easier for players to directly connect to their friends and family, unlike Journey’s random encounter system.

Chen also briefly touched upon the moment when Sky was unveiled during Apple’s iPhone X event last September. He said that the presentation at the Apple event reached a wider audience of non-gamers, but some of the people he knows who play games are less aware of Sky, because they “just fast forwarded the whole Apple TV part to just watch the end and look at the iPhone X.”

Ultimately, Chen said that he hopes players connect with Sky in a way that “could still generate good revenue” despite its lack of notorious mobile gaming trends like loot boxes. “So then you can create a path for other publishers or investors to, you know, consider doing it the honest way.”

The full 90-minute interview with Jenova Chen can be viewed on IGN’s website and on the company’s YouTube channel.

Tags: thatgamecompany, Sky
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The Vivo Xplay7 could be an absolute monster of an Android phone

With the buzz surrounding upcoming flagships at both MWC 2018 and outside events, you’d be forgiven for missing the waves being made by a little-known Chinese manufacturer. Vivo is best known as the first company to crack the in-display fingerprint scanner, a feat that both Samsung and Apple have failed to emulate so far. And as if that wasn’t enough, Vivo was also the first smartphone manufacturer to debut a smartphone with 6GB of RAM — so the Chinese company’s credentials are solid when it comes to technical innovation.

Leaks and rumors have recently surfaced that Vivo is planning the next entry in its flagship Xplay series — the Xplay7. The leaks come courtesy of Weibo, (as translated by FoneArena) and they paint a picture of a monster of a smartphone that could be enough to blow all thoughts of the impending Samsung Galaxy S9 that we expect to see at MWC 2018 next month.

Fone Arena

First up on the spec sheet is a 4K display with a curved edge-to-edge design, similar to the Galaxy S8 and Note 8. Unlike those two phones, however, the Xplay7 is rumored to be packing at incredible 92.9-percent screen-to-body ratio — the aforementioned Galaxy S8 and Note 8 have a ratio of 83.6-percent and 83.2-percent, making this Vivo phone one of the most bezel-less screens we’ve seen yet.

Details on screen size haven’t yet been revealed, but the ratio implies it’s likely to be on the larger size. It’s highly likely that the inclusion of Vivo’s impressive under-display fingerprint scanner is what allowed Vivo to shrink the bezels quite so much, since there doesn’t need to be room on the front of the display for a scanning button.

And it’s not all beauty with no brawn. The Vivo Xplay7 will be utilizing the power of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845, putting it on an even playing field with other 2018 Android flagships like the Galaxy S9, and the innards pack an incredible 10GB of RAM and options for 256GB and 512GB of onboard storage. This would be the world’s first smartphone with 10GB of RAM. Though some phones did reach 8GB in 2017, we’re yet to see a phone hit double digits for RAM. The storage is similarly impressive, with 512GB of onboard storage pushing the Xplay7 to PC levels.

The camera suite that has been installed seems similarly impressive, although details are scarce. What we do know is that the dual-lens camera on the rear will come with Sony IMX sensors and support for 4x optical zoom. There’s also mention of “Face Recognition 2.0,” whatever that is, though it’s likely to be tied into the front-facing camera, and is likely Vivo’s answer to Apple’s FaceID.

What’s the catch? These are only rumors at this stage, with all of this coming from a PowerPoint presentation leaked by Weibo. It’s also highly unlikely we’ll be seeing this phone anywhere but China, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on what Vivo is doing, since its so often ahead of the smartphone technological curve.

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These discounted RAVPower charging accessories are a must-have for gadget lovers

Time is already running out to save on these accessories.

RAVPower makes some great charging accessories, and today you can save big on a few of the company’s best products. Odds are that with how many gadgets fill your home that the biggest limiting factor is space for plugs, which is where this 4-port fast charging hub comes in handy. It’s down to just $15.39 right now from an average price of $22 and is available in both black and white. Looking for something more portable? No worries.

This 20000mAh power bank is priced at $25.89 today, which is just over $11 less than it normally goes for. There’s also a 15000mAh option for $21.99, but the reason it’s a bit more is because it has its own solar panel built right in. If you do a lot of outdoor activity or like to use the sun to power as much as you can, this is the deal for you.

You can’t go wrong with any of these accessories, and may even be able to find value in purchasing them all. Either way, these prices are good for one day only, so don’t miss out.

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Essential Phone won’t get public 8.0 Oreo update due to ‘stability issues’

Instead, the company will be focusing its efforts on 8.1.

All the way back in mid-November, the Essential Phone received its first beta build of Android 8.0 Oreo. This was followed up in late December with Beta 2, and it was expected that a public release for 8.0 Oreo would be soon to follow. Unfortunately, Essential recently announced on Twitter that this has been canceled.

Essential says that the beta program helped to accelerate the progress of developing Oreo for the Essential Phone, but during this testing, it “discovered several stability issues in Oreo 8.0 that we believe will be addressed in Oreo 8.1.”

As a result of this, the public rollout for Android 8.0 has been canceled and Essential will instead release 8.1 in its place.

Similar to 8.0, Essential will be running an Oreo 8.1 beta to gather feedback before rolling it out to the public. Essential says that it hopes to get the beta started late next week, and if you’re already enrolled in the 8.0 beta, you should receive an OTA update to move up to 8.1.

It is disappointing to hear that it’ll be a while longer before the majority of Essential Phone users can get their hands on Oreo, but then again, it probably makes more sense for Essential to do this rather than going through the whole process of perfecting 8.0 to just turn around and immediately focus on an 8.1 release.

Then again, that’s just my opinion. What do you think about Essential’s decision here?

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Android users can now ask Alexa to send SMS messages

Google, the ball is in your court.

When it comes to smart speakers, your two best options lie with ones powered by the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Each platform has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, but Amazon just got a nice lead over Google with support for sending SMS messages.

If you own an Echo or another Alexa-powered speaker, saying “Alexa, send a message” will now let you send SMS messages from your phone number to whatever recipient you’d like. You should see a prompt to guide you through setting this up the next time you open your Alexa app, and it’s as easy as going to Conversation -> Contacts -> My Profile and then enabling the toggle labeled “Send SMS.”

Alexa has previously been able to send messages to other people that have the Alexa app installed on their phone, and while it’ll still try and default to this when saying “Alexa, send a message”, it can now opt to send an SMS if it detects the person you’re trying to contact doesn’t have the app. Additionally, you can just say “Alexa, send a text” if you want to force it to just send an SMS and not try sending a message to someone else’s Alexa app.

This feature should be available to use now, but at least for the time being, you’ll need to have an Android phone in order for this to work.

It’s exciting to see Amazon finally release a feature like this, but as a Google Home owner myself, it has me even more anxious for Google to roll out something similar.

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